Career changers with degrees to become nurses or get msn degree

Nurses General Nursing

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I am interested in changing careers. I have a BA in another field but want to work in nursing or healthcare administration. Do I have to get an RN certificate before I could get a MSN or could I just start from an accelerated program?

You can't sit for the exam to get the license if you haven't completed a program approved by your state's board of nursing. So you'd have to complete a program (diploma, certificate, degree) that is approved to sit for the exam and then pass the exam to get the license.

I've read that there are programs for nursing which allows a person to get their license midway through their studies...That was the reason for the question..."So are you able to obtain a license without receiving a certificate, diploma or degree in nursing first? So what if you pass the tests, get your license, but never complete the diploma/degree part of it. Are you still considered a RN?"

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They just try to apply the best code for the most $ reimbursement. It is a low paying job. Not to long back, this work required no education.

With this particular job, the hours were long and exhausting & you are correct the pay was horrible. I worked harder with less pay but I think that you are thinking more of the medical billing & coding aspect. We didnt apply codes for $ reimbursement. My job descripition consisted of getting preauthorizations for patients to have procedures done & applying the information according to their insurance. We didnt just enter codes in for more $. The codes were based upon the actual procedure whether it was radiation therapy or a CT scan. That's the difference between the work I did (precerts & authorizations) & medical billing & coding. And also on another note, it actually required education beyond a high school diploma.

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The question comes down to what do you want to do? Do you want to be an administrator or do you want to work bedside?

Is there an advantage to working bedside vs the office setting?

I enjoy helping people in need and thrive on that energy for motivation.

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Understood, you were working on the other side of the thing. But in essence, it's the same, it's just applying a preset. I think you want a little more. Thing is, none of this needs an edu to do. But, as with a lot of the lower level jobs you could get years ago without an edu, it's all found a way to have some CC get you to have to get some certificate for a job in it these days. Heck I did all preauth/claims/billing for a doc while running his practice, as well as taking my prerequisites for my second degree nursing. Of course I have a business background, but it's not rocket science. Never would have actually paid for any kind of edu in it, LOL. It simply was a source of income, and a way to work with a doc and patients on my way to becoming a nurse.

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I did all preauth/claims/billing for a doc while running his practice, as well as taking my prerequisites for my second degree nursing. Of course I have a business background, but it's not rocket science. Never would have actually paid for any kind of edu in it, LOL. It simply was a source of income, and a way to work with a doc and patients on my way to becoming a nurse.

LOL And see now that's exactly what I am trying to do. I want somthing a lot more & better than what I have now. Cool & dandy, it does pay the bills but I want to be around people and helping & making a difference. I need something that'll be stability for myself and my family. Right now, I'm in the office setting as an Executive Admin but a change has to come someday. And like you said, "Never would have actually paid for any kind of edu in it." Any recommendations for good nursing schools?

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Specializes in Psych.

This is kind of funny. I have been a nurse since 1998 and I am looking to get out of bedside care. I had been researching for many months what the options might be for someone like me. I think ultimately I want to go into informatics, but one needs computer experience/education AND the clinical component to be taken seriously. Why I find this funny is because I am going back to school in August to get a second degree, a bachelor's in Health Information Mgmt, with an RHIA cert (which will begin with the coding aspect). Oftentimes, contrary to what you all are saying here, all the jobs in that field nowadays require a cert and usually an education beyond high school, and most want 2-3 years of experience. Anyway, I am going to use this degree, along with my nursing, as a stepping stone up to informatics, as I will gain quite a bit of computer education along the way. I want to make sure this is what I want to do before I spend the big bucks on the masters degree needed for informatics.

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Specializes in Peds Medical Floor.
I've read that there are programs for nursing which allows a person to get their license midway through their studies...That was the reason for the question..."So are you able to obtain a license without receiving a certificate, diploma or degree in nursing first? So what if you pass the tests, get your license, but never complete the diploma/degree part of it. Are you still considered a RN?"

The only thing I can think of where this is true is that (at least in my state) after 3 semesters of RN schooling you can apply for your LPN license.

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I've read that there are programs for nursing which allows a person to get their license midway through their studies...That was the reason for the question..."So are you able to obtain a license without receiving a certificate, diploma or degree in nursing first? So what if you pass the tests, get your license, but never complete the diploma/degree part of it. Are you still considered a RN?"

Depending on your state, you may be able to take an LPN license exam after a certain time in an RN program. A LPN isn't an RN though.

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The only thing I can think of where this is true is that (at least in my state) after 3 semesters of RN schooling you can apply for your LPN license.

Depending on your state, you may be able to take an LPN license exam after a certain time in an RN program. A LPN isn't an RN though.

In many (most?) of the direct-entry MSN programs, students complete their first year or so of "basic" nursing education and write the NCLEX and get licensed as RNs, then they continue on in the MSN portion of the program, often working as RNs part-time while still in school. These programs may or may not confer a BSN degree (or any other kind of certificate of completion) in addition to the MSN awarded at the completion of the program.

A few people here over the years have posted that they've run into trouble when attempting to endorse into another state after finishing the basic nursing education part of a direct-entry program and getting licensed as an RN, but leaving the program before they completed the MSN -- when they tried to endorse into another state, the other state took the position that, even though they held an RN license in the state in which they had gone to school, they had not completed an approved program of nursing education and, therefore, didn't meet the requirements for licensure in the new state.

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